Argos celebrate Grey Cup #championship

Storified by Maclean’s Magazine · Mon, Nov 26 2012 08:03:16

Toronto finally is a city of champions. In the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts handily beat the Calgary Stampeders 35-22 in front of a sold out Rogers Centre crowd of more than 50,000. It was time to celebrate and players and fans were quick to put their photos of the historic night up on Twitter and Instagram.

Congrats to @TorontoArgos on winning #100GreyCup. Nice to see a champion in Toronto again. Hopefully start of better sporting times for cityShi Davidi

]]>Last night Justin Bieber asked a crowd of 53,000 middle-aged men to be his boyfriend (sources say he went home alone) and the Toronto Argonauts won their first Grey Cup in eight years. They won it at home too, which is pretty cool, and puts this notion to shame.

Speaking of shame…

I still don’t know all the rules of the game (I almost wished the CBC had aired another one of those sexist programs catering to sports ignorant women), but I do know the Argos killed it last night–namely Chad Kackert, Ricky Ray, and Swayze Waters, says National Post sports writer, Sean Fitz-Gerald, who was sitting beside me in the press box–and was kind enough to tell me that.

In other news, this happened during Burton Cumming’s lounge remix of the national anthem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ewctjS3uTE

The Stampeders logo was decapitated shortly after fans poured out of the stadium. Of course, the grass zambonis (not sure what the proper term is) had to wipe everything away eventually, but the horse’s head went especially early.

Headless Stampeders Horse:

And on my taxi ride home I didn’t hear a single honking horn. Instead, I saw just three lonely blue-clad figures at Yonge and Dundas waving an Argos flag. Maybe I’m being unfair, or it was a Polkaroo moment, and I happened to miss the mobs of Argos fans every time I went outside, but I don’t think Toronto fully appreciates that we are at long last, victorious. Or perhaps I forgot that we do care about Toronto football.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/emma-teitel/argos-35-justin-bieber-0/feed/9Updated: Argos crowned 100th Grey Cup championshttp://www.macleans.ca/general/argos-crowned-100th-grey-cup-champions/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/argos-crowned-100th-grey-cup-champions/#commentsMon, 26 Nov 2012 04:00:10 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=319203TORONTO – Over one hundred years after the first Grey Cup was played, the Toronto Argonauts brought the iconic trophy back to where it all started.
A sold-out crowd of…

]]>TORONTO – Over one hundred years after the first Grey Cup was played, the Toronto Argonauts brought the iconic trophy back to where it all started.

A sold-out crowd of 53,208 at the Rogers Centre rose to their feet and erupted into a deafening roar as the final seconds ticked off the Argos’ 35-22 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday in the 100th Grey Cup game.

Argos fan Ben Westerik said it’s fitting that his hometown team was able to claim a place in Canadian football history with this win.

“It means a lot,” said the 22-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., after the game. “Since the first Grey Cup was won here, and now the 100th has been won … it’s pretty fantastic.”

The first Grey Cup was won in 1909 by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on a field in what is now the upscale neighbourhood of Rosedale.

Westerik says the championship title also comes at an appropriate for a city that has been struggling to hold onto its football fans amid a myriad of other professional sports options.

“I mean this city hasn’t had a championship star for a couple of years now. Everyone kind of feels like we are the sports city that always loses and it’s kind of felt that way for a good long time now,” he said.

“And now we finally have ourselves a championship. So I’m feeling pretty ecstatic.”

The highly anticipated match got off to a quick start with Chad Owens, this year’s CFL outstanding player, scoring the first touchdown minutes into the game.

The crowd — many dressed in Argos blue — waved flags, blew into plastic horns and bellowed out the team’s trademark chant — “Arrrrgoooooooos!” — throughout the high-stakes match between the East and West Division champions.

Those dressed in Stampeders red could also be heard screaming “Go Stamps Go!” at the start, but were given little chance to cheer in the second half of the game.

“They played a tough game but Toronto beat us. What can we say?” she asked. “(The Stamps) tried their best and they did their best.”

The atmosphere outside the stadium was rowdy as joyous Argos fans whooped and chanted in the streets. Cars driving by honked their horns and flew CFL flags from their windows.

There was a noticeable police presence outside the stadium before and after the game, but cold temperatures most likely deterred raucous fans from getting into trouble.

Both CFL teams had a lot on the line for a win. Calgary hadn’t won a Grey Cup since 2008 and Toronto hadn’t hoisted the trophy since 2004. And the last time the Argos won the Grey Cup at home was in 1952 when they beat the Edmonton Eskimos.

Harper, who is from Toronto but has his political riding in Calgary, sent a tweet after the game congratulating the Argos on the win.

Ford and Nenshi had made a bet on its outcome, with the mayor of the losing city promising to donate his weight in food to a food bank and wear the winning team’s jersey to a council meeting.

After the final whistle Nenshi sent out a tweet congratulating the Argos on a great game, and thanked the Stampeders for “an incredible season, and to Toronto for putting on an amazing event.”

Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had bet before the game that the premier of the losing province would have to donate 100 warm clothing items to a charitable group of the winning premier’s choice. They agreed towards the end of the game that both would make a donation.

Argos fan Justine Bertrand came to the game from nearby Ajax, Ont., with her mother, father, husband and six-year-old son Aedan.

She says a win will show the rest of Canada that Toronto is a still a football town.

“It would mean a lot to this city because the city has nothing to cheer about right now,” Bertrand said. “It will mean a lot to the fans because there are faithful fans in this city that nobody remembers.”

Bertrand was ecstatic at the turnout for the game.

“This feels good to see everybody out here,” she said.

Inside the stadium, the mood was jovial between Argos and Stamps fans, along with others representing the league’s remaining teams.

But the crowd was quick to show its distaste for the halftime show performer, teen idol Justin Bieber.

Both times when a photo of the Stratford, Ont., native was shown on the JumboTron, the crowd erupted into boos.

And when the superstar hit the stage following performances by Carly Rae Jepsen Jepsen, pop-punk bank Marianas Trench, and Canadian rock legend Gordon Lightfoot, the football fans continued with long and enduring jeers.

Argos fan Jamie Wolodarskym says the Argos are long overdue for a title and a win at home is just icing on the cake.

“It means everything,” said the 40-year-old Toronto man.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Sunday’s game was 100 years after the first Grey Cup.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/argos-crowned-100th-grey-cup-champions/feed/2Toronto: Too big for the Grey Cup?http://www.macleans.ca/authors/emma-teitel/toronto-too-big-for-the-grey-cup/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/emma-teitel/toronto-too-big-for-the-grey-cup/#commentsMon, 26 Nov 2012 01:16:41 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=319052Yesterday at noon, I walked into a Boston Pizza in downtown Toronto, in the middle of the Grey Cup street festival. Everyone was watching American college football. One guy yelled…

]]>Yesterday at noon, I walked into a Boston Pizza in downtown Toronto, in the middle of the Grey Cup street festival. Everyone was watching American college football. One guy yelled at the TV repeatedly. At Ohio state players: “that’s how we do it.” At Michigan players: “Take it b-tch.”

I sat down at the bar next to a man named Greg Weston, a Torontonian who grew up in Kingston. He was wearing a Saskatchewan Roughriders hat. When he was eleven or twelve, he says, his family had a very important house guest. “There used to be a program where families would take players in [on the road], and we hosted a player for a few days,” he says. “Walter Bender. Played for the [Hamilton] Tiger Cats, then was traded to the Rough Riders.” Weston and Bender hung out and ate dinner together every night.

He’s been a Roughriders fan ever since.

And he thinks there’s a specific reason–besides the fact that there were no CFL games on TV that day– why the Canadians in Boston Pizza were a lot more excited about an American college football game on TV than the big-league Canadian one coming up.

“Toronto, we’re a bunch of wannabees,” he says. “We like American football better. I have to say I am not the biggest CFL fan. I’m a die hard NFL fan. We go for what’s bigger and better and when the [Buffalo] Bills come to town we get excited about that. Let’s face it. A lot of people here for the Grey Cup are Stampeders fans.”

He has a point. If you’re in Toronto and you’re not within a three block radius of the Roger’s Centre and you’re not a CFL fan, you might not even know what the Grey Cup is, let alone that it’s taking place in your city. Hockey fan or not, it’s impossible to avoid the Leafs (no matter how much they stink.) Avoiding the Argos is almost effortless.

Steve Sommerfeld is probably as big a Calgary Stampeders fan as they come. He was also in Boston Pizza that day, in full Stamps regalia (jersey and cowboy hat) drinking a pint; though he wasn’t paying much attention to the college game on TV. “I went to the mall yesterday dressed like this,” says Sommerfeld, “and the guy [at the store counter] says ‘what are you in town for?’ And I say ‘a football game’ and he didn’t know.”

Sommerfeld and his friends say they love Toronto, but acknowledge that other, smaller, cities are probably better suited to host the Grey Cup. And they’d know, as they’ve upheld the same tradition for the past seven years: going to the Cup together and always taking with them, a “lucky football” signed by the entire 2004/05 Stampeders roster. I followed the group of guys–three out of four of whom were in full Stamps gear–out of Boston pizza, where they passed their lucky football back and forth all the way down Front Street, into another bar (also showing American college football.) I don’t really remember what happened next…

This was one of the only quotes I could make out my tape recorder the next morning:

“Nobody worries about pipelines from B.C. We just party.”

On my way here (I am currently at the Grey Cup, in the Roger’s Centre Press box) a lone TTC employee kept yelling “Argos” on my subway car. The refrain? “Shut up.”

Things are different here. We (the Argos) are winning, everybody’s happy (save my Stampeders friends) and if the next two quarters are anything like the first ones, this city will know victory for the first time in forever.

My Maclean’s editor asked me to cover the Grey Cup and the million of events that surrounded it because she said it’s “funny” when people who don’t know about sports are forced to report on them.

So I went to the Rogers Centre and waited outside the Calgary Stampeders dressing room, roster in hand, hoping to interview somebody–anybody– about anything other than football. I would ask about post-season plans, I thought. My dad was a sports writer (he wrote a book about the Argos in the ’80s) and he said a lot of the players work other jobs in the off-season. He once wrote a piece about CFL players who work as repo men in the summertime. Maybe I’d find some repo men.

I flagged down the first muscular guy who walked out of the dressing room. He told me he was in a hurry.

“Just a few questions?” I asked .

He smiled and said ok. And then he asked the first question: “Do you know who I am?”

(If you are ever forced to cover a sport you know nothing about, bring a photo roster)

“I’m the team trainer,” he said. “They come to me to get in shape for the season.”

Oh cool, I thought, I’ll ask him about their pre-game meals.

“I make them eat chicken nuggets and hamburgers and pizza,” he said. “It’s good for your nutrients. That’s how we get so big and strong and fast.” The trainer told me chicken nuggets were actually the standard in football nutrition. He said they eat nuggets in the NFL, too: “overpriced nuggets, from McDonald’s.”

Something wasn’t right. “Come on man, just tell her who you are,” his friend said.

“Who’s Arjei Franklin?” I asked his friend. He’s not Arjei Franklin, said the friend. “He’s Maurice Price, the best wide receiver in the Canadian Football League.”

I googled Maurice Price. He was standing in front of me.

“I tried to tell you,” he said.

Maurice is from Orlando. He says the biggest difference between Americans and Canadians is that Canadians have “bigger heads.”

“Like physically, or mentally?” I asked him.

“Physically,” he said. “I don’t know what it is.” Either he’s been watching too much South Park or he’s right.

If we do have bigger heads that’s about all some of us have in common. Stampeders fans-easily distinguishable from Torontonians by their smiles (and of course the occasional cowboy hat) aren’t afraid to brave the elemtents. I’ve seen 15–and counting–in shorts. And one guy in a tank top. They must eat their chicken nuggets.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/emma-teitel/chicken-nuggets-official-diet-of-the-cfl/feed/2Noted on Twitter: ‘Marty the Horse is why other countries make fun of us’http://www.macleans.ca/general/noted-on-twitter-marty-the-horse-is-why-other-countries-make-fun-of-us/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/noted-on-twitter-marty-the-horse-is-why-other-countries-make-fun-of-us/#commentsThu, 22 Nov 2012 19:56:09 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=318382In the name of tradition, the Royal York opened its doors — eventually — to Marty the Horse

Royal York opens doors (eventually) to Marty the Horse

CP News Item: (TORONTO) — The Royal York hotel has opened its doors to Marty the horse. Stamp fans got their chance to recreate a Grey Cup tradition by marching the 15-year-old stallion through the upscale Toronto hotel. The Royal York had turned them away earlier in the day:

Storified by Maclean’s Magazine · Thu, Nov 22 2012 12:48:07

Marty the horse has arrived at the Royal York, will they let him in? We’ll find out shortly #sl http://pic.twitter.com/6XUavrFqSteven D’Souza

The Royal York cited safety concerns as it turned the stallion away.

We understand everyone’s disappointment but cannot let Marty the horse inside due to safety concerns for guests, staff and Marty.Fairmont Royal York

Sent on his way, Marty made his way through other Toronto buildings:

Not only did we invite Marty INSIDE @Citynews we gave him a @City_tv toque! http://pic.twitter.com/TUzdYtw1Francis D’Souza

Line of the day regarding Marty the horse being locked out goes to @bruce_arthur : "It was like the National Energy Program for horses." Ha.Jason Fekete

#Marty is a new member of the @citynews family http://t.co/LSrIjmU8Celine McGlone

Marty the horse has been invited back at 2pm today. Marty will stroll through the front doors as per the Grey Cup tradition.Fairmont Royal York

So the Royal York has finally opened its doors to Marty, the @calstampeders horse. What. A. Day. http://pic.twitter.com/sNeUxfdtMoniKa Platek

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/noted-on-twitter-marty-the-horse-is-why-other-countries-make-fun-of-us/feed/6UPDATE: Royal York lets Marty the Horse into hotel in a victory for Stamps fanshttp://www.macleans.ca/general/update-royal-york-lets-marty-the-horse-into-hotel-a-victory-for-stamps-fans/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/update-royal-york-lets-marty-the-horse-into-hotel-a-victory-for-stamps-fans/#commentsThu, 22 Nov 2012 19:43:21 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=318373TORONTO – The Royal York hotel has opened its doors to Marty the horse.
Calgary Stampeders fans finally got their chance this afternoon to recreate a Grey Cup tradition by…

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/update-royal-york-lets-marty-the-horse-into-hotel-a-victory-for-stamps-fans/feed/1Stampeders fans told no horsin’ around at the Royal Yorkhttp://www.macleans.ca/general/stampeders-fans-told-no-horsin-around-at-the-royal-york/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/stampeders-fans-told-no-horsin-around-at-the-royal-york/#commentsThu, 22 Nov 2012 19:02:44 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=318344TORONTO – Calgary Stampeders fans hoping to repeat a Grey Cup tradition that started more than 60 years ago at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel were turned away today with a…

]]>TORONTO – Calgary Stampeders fans hoping to repeat a Grey Cup tradition that started more than 60 years ago at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel were turned away today with a resounding “neigh.”

Despite several attempts, staff at the tony downtown hotel would not let a 15-year-old dark brown stallion through its front doors — a custom that Stamps fans started in 1948 when they rode a horse through the Royal York lobby.

Instead, staff rolled out the hotel’s official red carpet, usually reserved for heads of state and dignitaries. Executive Chef Collin Thornton even prepared a bucket of apples and carrots — a horse’s favourite meal.

“It’s Calgary’s tradition,” he said, sitting atop the horse, which is also the team’s mascot. “We came here in 1948 to start the party with the horse into the Royal York and we’d like to make sure it happens (again).”

Armstrong tried to lead Marty through the throng of fans and media through the front doors, then through the hotel’s back entrance and at one point, pleaded with staff to let Marty stick his head into the lobby.

The request was declined each time.

Outside the hotel, a large crowd of Stampeders fans dressed in red jerseys and cowboy hats gathered outside to try to persuade the hotel to change its mind, chanting: “Let us in!” and “Go Stamps go!”

“It will be good luck,” Armstrong said of the horse entering the hotel. “As far as we’re concerned, as long as we get our horse in — we’ll be happy, happy, happy.”

After being refused entry into the Royal York, Marty took in some sightseeing in downtown Toronto by visiting a shopping complex and a local pub.

The Grey Cup game between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts is Sunday at Rogers Centre.